The Hallway’s 2023 season is the story of a remarkable comeback for Australia’s longest running creative indie. In 2021, the agency downsized its Melbourne office amid an “operational restructure” due to a challenging period in which its relationship with ANZ had changed.

Fast forward to 2023 and the agency is once again flying with 44 per cent growth in revenue and a 55 per cent rise in profit.

The agency bolstered its roster with the addition of former Saatchis and Clemenger strategist Graham Sweet. Ex-Clemenger Group’s Kent Boswell was also signed for a creative tech and innovation role adding to a formidable leadership group led by captain and industry legend Jules Hall.

The Hallway’s resilience and success is built on a policy of experience (the average age of staff is 41 years) and focusing on quality work rather than quantity. 

In 2023, The Hallway team nearly doubled to 35 (today it now stands at 39) as the agency introduced significant workplace initiatives, including a gender-neutral hiring policy and a review that eliminated its gender pay gap, which dropped from 9.4 per cent in 2022 to zero in 2023. Its senior leadership team also became more culturally diverse, with 40 per cent of members now coming from diverse backgrounds. 

The agency also rolled out a Sensitive Women’s Issues policy and revamped its  carers leave policy to support new parents through birth, adoption and fostering. Additionally, the agency adopted the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument to better understand team dynamics and communication styles, alongside introducing a new volunteering leave policy for all staff.

Capping off a powerful year of human and social impact, the agency was B-Corp accredited at the back end of the season.

This reboot and rebuild brought The Hallway success. Notable client wins in 2023 included Vitalis, Anytime Fitness, Boody, Fantastic Furniture and the Bank of Queensland. 

For Anytime Fitness, The Hallway took over brand strategy, retail advertising, channel planning, and media buying, while their work for Boody focused on creative platform development and production. 

An eye-catching campaign was Boody’s “Make Yourself Comfortable”, which featured women displaying the ‘unmistakable’ marks left by uncomfortable underwear and encouraging them to use the bamboo underwear companies products. 

The Hallway’s strong commitment to diversity, inclusivity and social good, coupled with a stellar client performance, solidified its return as one of the most interesting creative indies in Australia.